Suspension Brakes Most liked posts in thread: Please help: Stripping Rear Trailing arm (aluminum)

Don't overtorque it?

Other than that, I don't know what you can do except maybe use some lubricant on it as you remove it.....

Isn't there also room on the back for a nut if you need to? Just drill it thru and buy a longer bolt and nylock nut, maybe?

I think I remember reading that those bolts were supposed to be one-use....maybe buy some new ones just in case?

 

Well then, I'd go with the long bolt/nylock nut idea if it will fit, then you can replace it as many times as needed with no problems....and no helicoil to fit.

 

Yeah, sounds like you need to replace the bolt and use a nylock nut or blue loctite. Just figure out the thread pitch, diameter, length, and head shape and find a bolt in something like a McMaster Carr catalog. Who knows, maybe Home Depot or Napa would have the right bolt so you can buy singles. Or maybe BMW uses a round bolt on the E36 or R53.

 

Not the R56 trailing arm, but I had a similar issue on a previous car (MINI or Subaru, can't remember), but the fix was to put a not on the far end. The more I think about it, it was the MINI as I had retapped it several times (which was possible with steel inserts).

 

You could always just drill it and bolt it ahead of time. That's always stronger than a bolt that threads in, too.

 

the thing that gives tension to the bolt doesn't really matter. the load is in the opposite direction. the main issue is finding a suitable replacement for strength and corrosion resistance.

its been awhile so I can visualize what the setup looks like. I think Nathan and I had chatted at length about this when I had issues...let me see if I still have chat logs.

 

found it. here's the pic we were discussing. you should be able to drill out the arm and put a nut on the end. That's what I ended up doing....the bolt is plenty long enough. either 12x1.5 or 14x1.5, can't remember.

my Subaru Legacy GT had a single lower bolt like this on the strut...you had to line up the trailing arm just right and pound the bolt through and put a nut on the other side. The MINI has the same arrangement but the steel trailing arms have a tacked nut on the back side and the R56 is threaded (not sure if there's a nut...)

 

The R56 arms do not have the nut. When they went to cast arm Aluminium arm they also went with the self tapping bolt. The R53 steel arms could easily have the bolt tacked on for ease of manufacture, the Al ones aren't as easy to tack a bolt too. So while the bolt on the R56 arm costs a little more it actually cost MINI less over time as there is one less part to have to deal with in the manufacturing process.

 

but, the good news is that you can ream out the arm if it gets cheesed and put a nut on the back side. Wait....that doesn't sound right :lol:

 

FYI, the bolt is 14x1.5

Did this on a friends r53, and it has worked perfectly since day one. On his, it wasnt 100% needed, but it certainly added a nice bit of piece-o-mind. The threads were just in poor shape in general b/c of all the swapping.

 

Why don't you convert it to the old R53 suspension with the steel control arms? The only two cars we've seen with these coming loose are lowered to the extreme. And at worse with the steel arms you could cut the threaded part off and weld on a new nut, or just add another nut.

 

:lol:

So, what's if travelling for?

 

Voluntarily? :confused5:

What part of California?

 

Good luck Rally.

You will be missed around these parts.